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‘I am starting to panic about my child’s future’: climate scientists wary of starting families (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 5 months ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/world@lemmy.world

124 comments fedilink hide all child comments

A fifth of female climate scientists who responded to Guardian survey said they had opted to have no or fewer children

Ihad the hormonal urges,” said Prof Camille Parmesan, a leading climate scientist based in France. “Oh my gosh, it was very strong. But it was: ‘Do I really want to bring a child into this world that we’re creating?’ Even 30 years ago, it was very clear the world was going to hell in a handbasket. I’m 62 now and I’m actually really glad I did not have children.”

Parmesan is not alone. An exclusive Guardian survey has found that almost a fifth of the female climate experts who responded have chosen to have no children, or fewer children, due to the environmental crises afflicting the world.

…

An Indian scientist who chose to be anonymous decided to adopt rather than have children of her own. “There are too many children in India who do not get a fair chance and we can offer that to someone who is already born,” she said. “We are not so special that our genes need to be transmitted: values matter more.”

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[-] autotldr@lemmings.world 4 points 5 months ago

This is the best summary I could come up with:

Ninety-seven female scientists responded, with 17, including women from Brazil, Chile, Germany, India and Kenya, saying they had chosen to have fewer children.

Most of the female scientists interviewed had made their decisions about children in past decades, when they were younger and the grave danger of global heating was less apparent.

They said they had not wanted to add to the global human population that is exacting a heavy environmental toll on the planet, and some also expressed fears about the climate chaos through which a child might now have to live.

Compulsory population control is not part of today’s population-environment debate, with better educational opportunities for girls and access to contraception for women who want it seen as effective and humane policies.

Prof Regina Rodrigues, an oceanographer at the Federal University of Santa Catarina in Brazil, who also chose not to have children, was influenced by the environmental destruction she saw in the fast-expanding coastal town near São Paulo where she grew up.

A study of Americans aged 27 to 45 – younger than the IPCC scientists surveyed – found concern about the wellbeing of children in a climate-changed world was a much bigger factor than worries over the carbon footprint of their offspring.

The original article contains 1,186 words, the summary contains 206 words. Saved 83%. I'm a bot and I'm open source!

[-] Kedly@lemm.ee 3 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

How do you have fewer than no children? (=P tongue in cheek purposeful misunderstanding, not true pedantry)

Edit: (Damn, even being clear I was being cheeky I still managed to piss someone off xD)

[-] thejml@lemm.ee 3 points 5 months ago

Someone’s gotta have that half child from the 2.5 average!

[-] Halcyon@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

But that would be like going to the gym 3.5 times a week! How do you go 3.5 times?! Do a half workout or something?

[-] TwigletSparkle@lemmy.blahaj.zone 1 points 5 months ago

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eECjjLNAOd4

[-] Halcyon@discuss.tchncs.de 2 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

That's where this originated from, the forum is still online, a highlight of human history:

https://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php?t=107926751

[-] PipedLinkBot@feddit.rocks 1 points 5 months ago

Here is an alternative Piped link(s):

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[-] Kedly@lemm.ee 1 points 5 months ago

-0.5 children

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this post was submitted on 10 May 2024

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